Mike Bercovici named Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year

By Arizona Sports | December 1, 2015 at 8:54 pmUPDATED: December 2, 2015 at 6:38 am

Mike Bercovici has ended his last season at Arizona State on a high note off the field, winning the Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year award.

The redshirt senior graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in business management in three years with a 3.67 combined GPA with his graduate-level studies.

Bercovici completed 60 percent of his passes in 2015 for 3,443 yards and 26 touchdowns against only nine interceptions.

He is currently enrolled in a Master’s of Sports Law and Business and is on track to graduate in May 2016.

Bercovici’s honor is the second straight and third overall for Arizona State. Taylor Kelly won the award in 2014 while linebacker Mike Nixon took home the trophy in 2009.

The Pac-12’s Offensive Player of the Year was awarded to Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey and the Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year award was given to Oregon defensive end DeForest Buckner.

Washington State’s Mike Leach and Stanford’s David Shaw were named the Co-Coaches of the Year. Leach, in his fourth season in Pullman, led the Cougars to an 8-4 record this season, a five-game improvement over 2014 and the highest win total for the program since the 2003 team that won 10 games and beat Texas in the Holiday Bowl.

Stanford’s Shaw wins the award for the third time in five years after leading the Cardinal to a 10-2 record and a Pac-12 North title.

UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen and USC linebacker Cameron Smith were named the conference’s Offensive Freshman and Defensive Freshman of the Year awards, respectively.